


A Konoha Christmas Carol

by Uchiha_Blood



Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, Christmas, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-16
Updated: 2015-10-16
Packaged: 2018-04-26 16:11:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5011201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uchiha_Blood/pseuds/Uchiha_Blood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prepare for your heart to be destroyed with feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Konoha Christmas Carol

A young Sasuke Uchiha stood alone on his balcony, unable to sleep. He was wrapped in a warm maroon quilt that his mother had made when he was born. For the first years of his life, he had taken the warmth and comfort of that blanket for granted, but now that his parents were dead and his brother a fugitive and a murderer, it was all he had. A gentle snow began to fall, coating the entire village in a delicate layer of white. It was beautiful, but it brought back memories of before the incident. Joy and laughter, smiles that he would never see again. 

Tears burned in his eyes and froze solid on their way down his cheeks. His vision blurred, but he made no move to dry his face. It was the night of December 24th. This would be his first Christmas alone. He had a right to be sad. 

"Damn you, Itachi," he whispered. "I believed in you."

Suddenly, an icy blast nearly knocked him off his feet. He clutched the railing, bracing himself against the wind. Then, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up, indicating that someone just might be behind him. But that was impossible. He was alone in the house, as far as he knew, and besides, if such things were real, wouldn't his parents' ghosts have made themselves known by now?

"Hello, Sasuke-kun," a friendly voice greeted him. He tensed.

"Who are you? What do you want?" he asked, keeping his voice as calm as he could.

"My name is Kushina, and I would like to show you something."

"Kushina?" The name sounded vaguely familiar. He wondered where he had heard it before.

"Yes, that's right. Perhaps your mother mentioned me? I know we met once, but you were just a tiny thing!"

Oh, that's right. Kushina Uzumaki, the mother of one of his classmates, had been Mom's friend. He had seen photos of her in the family scrapbook. But what was her ghost doing here? He turned around. Immediately, he recognized the bright red hair and cocky grin.

"You're Naruto's mother, right?"

"Yes! Is he doing well?"

"Relatively speaking, I believe so, yes."

"Ah, that's good. Well, I'm here on a mission and I don't have much time, so let's get going," she declared, offering a pale, misty hand. "Hold on tight!"

Sasuke hesitated, then, tightening his grip on his quilt, reached out and took her hand. There was a powerful gust of wind, a blinding flash of light, and then, nothing. Silence.

"You can open your eyes now, ya know," Kushina whispered, chuckling warmly. 

He did. 

They were outside, he knew that much. It was cold, and the ground was covered in snow. The sun had already set, and he could hear the faint sounds of laughter and music coming from the house in front of him. It almost looked like his own. From where he stood, he couldn't quite see in the window.

"Well, go on, take a peek. They can't see you."

He did. 

The living room was brightly lit by a roaring fire. In the center stood a gigantic Christmas tree decorated with popcorn chains, various sparkly baubles, and some kid-made ornaments on the lower branches. The couch and chairs had been rearranged in a circle where two couples sat watching a young boy and a toddler playing with their new toys. Both children had black hair, and so did the couple on the left. He assumed they were the boys' parents. The other couple bore no resemblance to the rest, so perhaps they were family friends. 

Wait a minute. 

He looked at the couple on the right again. The woman had messy red hair. He looked at the woman behind him. Messy red hair. He looked back through the window. So, if that woman on the couch was Kushina, that would mean that the blond man next to her was Minato. Could it be that the giggling toddler playing with a teddy bear was none other than himself?

"What is this? What--"

"Whoa, whoa, easy there! I'm not gonna hurt you, ya know! Just look. Remember how happy you were?"

"No. I was only a baby. Of course I don't remember."

"Right, duh, of course. But look at your little face! Look at that smile! Oh, you were just the cutest baby," Kushina gushed, hands clasped over her heart. 

Ignoring her last comment, Sasuke looked closer at the smaller of the two children. The little boy was just barely able to stand in his blue and white snowflake onsie, clinging to his big brother's arm. With help from his brother, the boy managed to toddle over to the loveseat under the window. The brother scooped him up and plopped him on the cushions so he could show him the stars and the snow. Sasuke froze for a split second before he remembered that he was invisible. He took a step back from the window, having recognized his brother's face immediately. 

"You done?" Kushina asked.

"Yeah."

"Right! Here we go!"

Whoosh. Flash. Silence.

He opened his eyes to yet another familiar scene, but from the unique perspective of the rooftop across the street from where Naruto lived. He glanced over at Kushina, who swiped at her eyes as she took in the sight of the house she had once called home. Silently, he, too, watched as a restless blond sat staring out the window, occasionally wiping his nose on his sleeve. He could tell that they were back in the current year, and unbeknownst to him, Naruto had been crying on Christmas Eve too.

"Oh, my poor baby," Kushina whispered, reaching out toward him with a trembling hand.

"He can't see you, you know that," Sasuke whispered, giving her other hand a comforting squeeze. 

"I know," she said sadly, taking a deep breath before turning to face him. "Are you ready to see what's next?"

"Next? You mean, the future?"

"Mhmm... Or, well, your possible future. You get to choose what to do with this information."

Whoosh. Flash. Silence.

"Noooooo!" a distraught voice cried, and upon opening his eyes, he found himself staring at a hurriedly made grave, unmarked save for a bouquet of wilted flowers. Leaning over the grave, sobbing uncontrollably was one young man in his mid-twenties. As the grieving man threw his head back to scream at the heavens, cursing them for taking away his only friend, Sasuke was stunned to see distinct whisker marks on his tan cheeks.

Kushina, too, was crying, but she said nothing as Sasuke stepped forward to see if he could figure out whose grave it was. A part of him already knew, but he had to be sure.

"Oh, Sasuke, I've failed you! I tried to save you, really, I did! Please, please forgive me!" future Naruto sobbed, tears flowing unfettered down his cheeks. "I promised you we'd die together!"

"I forgive you," Sasuke found himself whispering, but it was to no avail. As he watched in horror, future Naruto removed a kunai from his pocket and plunged it into his heart. 

Before he could react, there was another gust of wind, a blinding flash, which he was able to anticipate this time, and with that, he was home safe and sound. He quickly looked around, finding himself back on the balcony in the snow, completely alone. It had all happened so quickly that he could scarcely believe what had just happened, but written in the freshly fallen snow was this:

I trust you'll make the right choice. --K

K. Kushina. So it was real.

He knew exactly what he had to do. 

Still in his pajamas with his blanket draped over his shoulders, he ran downstairs and, pausing momentarily to put on his shoes, headed out into the snow. Praying it wouldn't be too late, he broke into a run, leaving the desolate Uchiha district and heading for the center of town. Sure enough, he could still see Naruto staring out the window with a pitiful expression. Only trouble was, Naruto couldn't see him.

If he shouted, he might wake the whole neighborhood. If he waved his arms in the air to get his attention, he might drop his blanket in the snow. Of course, he'd knock first, and if that didn't work, he'd have to think of something else. Maybe a snowball to the window would do the trick...

The snowball would have worked, certainly, but Naruto answered the door almost immediately. He yawned, shivering and sniffling as he opened the door, then froze when he saw who it was. His rival, Uchiha Sasuke. He quickly straightened up, pretending he hadn't just been crying.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to sound tough but failing rather miserably.

"It's Christmas Eve and neither of us have anyone to spend it with. I'm trying to solve that problem. Now let me in. It's cold out here."

Naruto did, still a bit confused as he shut the door behind him. "So you're telling me you're here just because you don't want to be alone on Christmas? That's it?"

"No one should have to be alone on Christmas, idiot. Besides, who else is going to bother to care about us? The orphans everyone hates?"

"They don't hate you, though."

"They do, they just don't show it. Adults do, anyway."

"Oh."

Twenty minutes later, the pair sat snugly wrapped in blankets on the edge of Naruto's bed with a plate of cheap store bought Christmas cookies between them. They didn't talk much, but they were cozy and they were together. That was enough for Sasuke, at least, to think that perhaps he really wasn't alone in this world. After all, he had this blond idiot, who, although annoying, was willing to share his bed, his cookies, and his Christmas with him. Maybe it wasn't the perfect Christmas, but it was much better than he had hoped for. 

"Merry Christmas, dobe," he whispered as the bells struck midnight, leaning against the window with a sigh.

"Merry Christmas, teme," Naruto whispered back through a mouthful of cookie. Crumbs went flying.

"Keep your food in your mouth, please."

"Just because you're a year older doesn't make you my mom!" More crumbs flew.

"You're gross."

Of all the times Naruto had chosen to let loose a nasty one, this was the king of the farts. 

"Case in point," Sasuke declared, then fell into a fit of giggles that he couldn't prevent nor halt no matter what he did. Naruto was laughing, too, so at least he wasn't looking completely foolish. Oh, well. It was Christmas. He had a right to be happy.


End file.
